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BLACKJACK SIDE BETS

 

Summary

The larger casino softwares offer 1 or 2 blackjack games with an optional side bet. Blackjack side bets almost always have a higher house edge than the main bet of the game. One of the few exceptions is games with an abnormally high progressive jackpot. A summary of specific bets is below.

 

Triple 7s / Super 7s / Lucky 7s / Blackjack 7s

Microgaming, Boss Media, Chartwell, and World Gaming offer a triple / super / lucky 7s side bet that pays when the player's first card is a 7. This side bet is required with Microgaming and optional with the others. The chance of suited 7s varies significantly depending on how many decks are used, so several hand odds are listed in the table below. The game's paytable is the amount paid with Microgaming and the net win with the other softwares (equals 1 - amount paid). To be consistent, all payouts below are listed as net win.

Hand
Microgaming
(5 Decks)
World Gaming (6 Decks)
Boss Media (6 Decks)
Chartwell (8 Decks)
3 Diamond 7's 1 in 290,000 Jackpot -- -- -- -- -- --
3 Suited 7's 1 in 97,000 999* 1 in 66,000 5000 1 in 66,000 1500 1 in 54,000 500
3 Unsuited 7's 1 in 2800 249* 1 in 2700 500 1 in 2700 500 1 in 2600 100
2 Suited 7's 1 in 900 49* 1 in 870 100 1 in 870 100 1 in 830 50
2 Unsuited 7's 1 in 240 24* 1 in 240 50 1 in 240 50 1 in 240 25
1 Seven 1 in 14 4* 1 in 14 3 1 in 14 3 1 in 14 3
Nothing 12 in 13 -- 12 in 13 -- 12 in 13 -- 12 in 13 --
House Edge
-10 to 35%*
12.60%
17.92%
49.93%
Jackpot Range
10 to 135k*
None
None
None
Break Even Point
110k
None
None
None
*House edge and jackpot range of Microgaming Triple 7's Blackjack are based on full historical range, not typical range
Payout of Microgaming Triple 7's Blackjack is listed as net win, which is the game's listed paychart -1

 

Progressive Blackjack

Playtech, Cryptologic, and Odds On offer a Progressive Blackjack game, which pays when the player's first card is an ace. The player wins the jackpot with 4 suited aces in the Playtech game, and 4 colored aces in the Cryptologic & Odds On games. The chance of suited aces varies significantly depending on how many decks are used, so several hand odds are listed in the table below.

 
Playtech (6 Decks)
Odds On (4 Decks)
Cryptologic (8 Decks)
Hand Hand Odds Payout Hand Odds Payout Hand Odds Payout
4 Suited Aces 1 in 6,500,000 Jackpot -- -- -- --
4 Red/Black Aces -- -- 1 in 540,000 Jackpot 1 in 340,000 Jackpot
4 Aces (Other) 1 in 37,000 2500 1 in 45,000 10% of Jackpot 1 in 39,000 2500
3 Suited Aces 1 in 67,000 5000 1 in 99,000 2500 1 in 55,000 1500
3 Unsuited Aces 1 in 2800 250 1 in 2900 250 1 in 2700 250
2 Suited Aces 1 in 870 100 1 in 960 50 1 in 830 100
2 Unsuited Aces 1 in 240 50 1 in 240 25 1 in 240 25
1 Ace 1 in 14 5 1 in 14 -- 1 in 14 --
Nothing 12 in 13 -- 12 in 13 -- 12 in 13 --
House Edge
6 to 9%
15%?*
-2 to 45%
Jackpot Range
50 to 140k
140k?*
50 to 210k
Break Even Point
570k
180k
205k
*I have not tracked Odds On jackpots to have a good sense of variation. Only the current value from October 2007 is listed.

 

Perfect Pairs / Bonus Pairs

Microgaming, Real Time Gaming Party Gaming, and Odds On offer a blackjack game with an optional Perfect Pairs side bet. The side bet pays when the player's first two cards are the same rank. The chance of a pair varies significantly with the number of decks. RTG operators may configure the number of decks, so house edge values for several numbers of decks are listed below.

Hand Hand Odds:
(8 Decks)
Party / RTG:
(8 Decks)*
RTG:
(6 Decks)*
MG:
(2 Decks)
RTG:
(4 Decks)*
Odds On:
(4 Decks)
Perfect (Suited) Pair 1 in 59 25 25 30 25 30
Colored Pair 1 in 52 12 12 15 12 10
Mixed Pair 1 in 26 6 6 7 6 5
Nothing 12 in 13 -- -- -- -- --
House Edge   4.10% 6.11% 7.77% 10.14% 10.63%
*RTG operators may configure number of decks. I believe they are typically set from 4 to 8.

 

Hot Streak / High Streak Blackjack

Microgaming & Wagerworks offer blackjack with an optional Streak side bet, which pays on two or more wins without a loss in between. Ties maintain point in a streak, but do not pay.

Hand Hand Odds Wagerworks Paytable Microgaming Paytable
5 Wins 1 in 40 -- 10
4 Wins 1 in 19 6 5
3 Wins 1 in 9 3 2
2 Wins 1 in 4.4 1.5 1
1 Win 1 in 2.1 -- --
House Edge   3.39% 4.55%

 

Bonus Blackjack

Microgaming offers a Bonus Blackjack game which pays when the players first two cards are the same suit. The main bet of the game has the same rules as Vegas Downtown Blackjack (2 Decks).

Hand Hand Odds:
(2 Decks)
Microgaming Paytable
Spades Ace & Jack 1 in 1300 50
Suited Ace & Jack 1 in 450 25
Any Suited 1 in 4.2 2.5
Nothing 3 in 4 --
House Edge   6.46%

 

Hi Lo 13 Blackjack

Microgaming offers a Hi Lo 13 European blackjack game which allows the player to bet on the sum of the first 2 cards (ace count as 1). The main bet of the game has the same rules as European Blackjack (2 Decks).

Hand Odds:
(2 Decks)
Microgaming Paytable House Edge
>13 0.4496 1:1 10.08%
13 0.0836 10:1 7.99%
<13 0.4668 1:1 6.65%

 

Double Jack (Blackjack Pro)

Net Entertainment Blackjack Pro offers a "double jack" side bet, which pays when the player's first card is a jack. Net Ent's press release says the side bet has 4.33% house edge. I believe 4.33% occurs with 8 decks, not 4 decks as specified in the rules. 4 decks has a higher 4.93% house edge.

Hand Hand Odds:
(4 Decks)
Net Ent Paytable
Two Jacks of Spades 1 in 3600 100
Two Jacks 1 in 190 25
One Jack 1 in 14 10
Nothing 12 in 13 --
House Edge   4.93%

 

21+3 Blackjack

Wagerworks 21+3 Blackjack offers an optional "21+3" side bet, which pays if the first two player cards and dealer up card form a 3-card poker hand.

Hand Hand Odds:
(6 Decks)
Wagerworks Paytable
Suited 3 of a Kind 1 in 4800 100
Straight Flush 1 in 480 35
3 of a Kind 1 in 200 33
Straight 1 in 32 10
Flush 1 in 17 5
Nothing 9 in 10 --
House Edge   4.14%

 

20+ Bonus Blackjack

Wagerworks Vegas Blackjack with 20+ Bonus offers an optional "20+ Bonus" side bet, which pays if the player gets a 20 or BJ on his initial two cards.

Hand Hand Odds:
(6 Decks)
Wagerworks Paytable
Blackjack Tie 1 in 460 30
Blackjack Win 1 in 22 3
Twenty Loses 1 in 78 20
Twenty Ties 1 in 53 10
Twenty Wins 1 in 13 2
Nothing 17 in 20 --
House Edge   5.36%

 

Two Against One

Boss Media 2 Against 1 Blackjack offers an optional "Two Against One" side bet, which pays 1:5 if both of the player's first 2 cards are not a lower rank than the dealer's upcard. Note that 10, J, Q, and K are treated as different ranks.

Dealer Upcard
Chance of Win
Advantage (1.5:1)
2
100%
1.50
3
85%
1.13
4
71%
0.79
5
59%
0.48
6
48%
0.19
7
38%
-0.06
8
29%
-0.28
9
21%
-0.47
10
15%
-0.64
J
9.3%
-0.77
Q
5.2%
-0.87
K
2.2%
-0.94
A
0.5%
-0.99
House Edge
7.20%


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